[Edu-sig] interesting article about the future of user platforms

[kirby urner]

Yeah, interesting, shades of Tufte's 'Envisioning Information' which
sits here on my desk.

Re the taxonomy of human activities, all those physical ones *may* have an
intellectual component as well -- which maybe explains the asterisk?

On another front, New York Times just came out with an article talking about
USA school districts already disillusioned with one laptop per child (lowercase
cuz it's not official OLPC, just each kid has a laptop).

Teachers found the technology too difficult to control, with kids
turning "inward"
(i.e. into cyberspace) for their information (including lotsa porn).

Plus the prison-like atmosphere of USA schools made teachers feel more
than ever like prison guards, trying to keep their students from hacking
through poorly designed security systems.

A lot of traditionalists over on the Math Forum are crowing with this news as
to them it's a vindication of their anti-computer philosophy of education.  In
my view, it's more proof that the old lesson plans and standards are way
out of synch with the new technology.  Unlike the traditionalists, I say it's
the computers that should stay, the old curriculum we don't need.

But I believe in freedom of choice.  Dark agers should still have access to
their antediluvian courses if that's really what they want to have.  Just don't
punish *all* students because of the druthers (desires) of the anti-computer
ethnicities.

Those who want laptop-based education should maybe link up with gnu math
teachers, other geeks (many of them Python-savvy) and the soon-to-be larger
numbers of XO-based youth around the world.

http://mathforum.org/kb/thread.jspa?threadID=1566320&tstart=0

Kirby